Heart of Stone
by Black Raider
Summary: During a battle in the mountains, Shifu has been wounded. Now, he fights for his life as Po tries to convince a great, immortal warrior to help. But can he break her heart of stone? Or will Shifu die in the snow? Why does this warrior seem to hate Shifu?
1. Battle in the Mountains

Inspired by Red Panda Obsessor's "Life or Death?" story. Enjoy!

Heart of Stone

Chapter One- Battle in the Mountains

No one ever said it was supposed to be easy. No one ever told Po that either. Hence the reason he kept getting knocked into a wall or repeatedly coming too close to falling off the mountain.

"Why again are we up here?" Po yelled as Crane saved him (again) from falling off the rock.

"To stop the Yangzi Clan!" Crane replied as he deflected a spear and sent its holder hurdling off the mountain. The evil warrior's screams were silenced with a crash into the sharp rocks below. The Yangzi Clan had been terrorizing the Valley of Peace for the past month, so Shifu, the Furious Five, and Po took it upon themselves to drive the warriors out or wipe them out altogether. Since the Yangzi Clan wasn't going quietly, the warriors had to resort to wiping them out. At least that way the group of snakes, crocs, and gorillas wouldn't cause anyone else trouble.

Po tried his best to dodge any weapon that was swung his direction and even fight back. But, seeing how he was being pummeled a lot, he took to a ledge and scrambled up. He looked out at the many warriors they had left to kill. It was a fairly large mountain, and there were at least a hundred or so warriors, minus the ones from the Jade Palace. But it was a bit cramped. Po saw Viper strangling a gorilla and Tigress snapping a croc's neck. Monkey was flipping this way and that, knocking the bandits off the mountain. Po shivered as most of them screamed as they fell. Crane swooped down to kick warriors attacking his friends from behind. Po noticed another gorilla being beat up by a seemingly invisible force.

_Mantis, no doubt. _His thoughts chuckled. Po grabbed a branch from a tree and joined the fight again, looking for Master Shifu.

Shifu couldn't be seen very well because he was on a small clearing higher up, facing the Yangzi Clan's leader, a large tiger named Yangzi (hence the name of his clan). Both leaders were covered in cuts, bruises, and Shifu had a bite mark on his left arm. Yangzi, in turn, had a nasty cut in his tail from Shifu stabbing a dagger thru it. Now, Yangzi had the dagger and Shifu was one backward step away from falling off the ledge and into the mess of warriors below him. Yangzi rushed in with the dagger, but Shifu managed to jump up and use the tiger's head for an extra jump. Shifu landed on all fours, doing a 180 to face the tiger that was rushing at him. Shifu waited at the last second and kicked the dagger out of Yangzi's hand and then spin kicked him to the edge of the cliff. Before the tiger could recover, Shifu launched a kick to his face, knocking him off the cliff. Shifu panted as he searched for the dagger. He saw it next to the ledge and grabbed it.

That's when a knife sliced thru the air, giving Shifu a nasty cut on his right arm. He cried out in pain as he dropped his dagger. Yangzi, who had been holding onto the rock face with his claws, suddenly swung up and kicked Shifu in the face. Shifu was slow to recover, and Yangzi managed to get a few hits in. But at the sight of Crane hurdling into the mountain wall near him, Shifu had a sudden adrenaline rush, kicking Yangzi to the ground. The tiger stayed on the ground, and Shifu rushed to Crane's side.

"I'm fine….." Crane wheezed. The avian had obviously gotten the wind knocked out of him. He quickly got up and rejoined the fight below. Shifu was about to follow when he suddenly felt like his bad leg was on fire. He fell to the cold stone ground, holding his now bleeding leg. Yangzi held the bloody knife in his hand and moved in for the kill. He would've killed Shifu then and there…

….had a certain female tiger not slammed into him.

Tigress, hearing her master's cries, had rushed up to him and now she and Yangzi fought hard like wild animals. Shifu looked away as Tigress snapped the evil tiger's neck, killing him instantly. As an added (though quite unneeded) bonus, Tigress stabbed him with his own dagger. Tigress turned to her master, but was surprised to see him gone. Looking over the edge, she saw him attacking the rest of the clan, completely oblivious to the pain. She rolled her eyes, but helped him and the other fight.

Po soon found himself standing next to his master. "We need to end this soon!"

"Right!" Shifu agreed as he kicked a warrior into another's spear. "Gather the Five and tell them to get to higher ground!" Shifu grabbed Po's tree branch from his hands and weaved his way thru the crowd. Po kept fighting, telling the Five Shifu's message as he went.

"When?" Tigress asked.

"Not sure!" Po replied. However, they soon heard rumbling, and everyone looked up to see a landside heading towards them. The Yangzi Clan warriors rushed around, but were crushed by falling rocks. The Furious Five and Po, with the help of Crane, managed to get to a ledge off to the side, safely away from the raining rocks. Once the rocks had settled, it was plain to see that the Yangzi Clan was no more.

But Master Shifu was nowhere in sight.

A/N: I needed a break and had to start something new. This story will be relatively short, but I needed to start fresh before going back to my old stories. Read and Review!


	2. Wounded

Chapter Two- Wounded

The Five and Po desperately searched for their fallen master. They all feared the worst as they dug thru rock and stone to find him. It wasn't until Mantis shouted, "I found him!" that they calmed a bit. Everyone rushed over to Mantis, who was standing next to a hole in the rocks.

"He's down there." Mantis said, gesturing down the hole. "He's stuck under a boulder." The others dug up some of the rocks, careful to not drop any on their master. They soon cleared a big enough hole and Tigress dropped down, landing softly next to Shifu. He looked fine, but his legs and tail were trapped under a boulder. Shifu covered his head with his hands as Tigress gave the boulder a furious punch, breaking it to pebbles. Tigress helped Shifu up and Viper helped them out of the hole.

"You alright?" Po asked his master. He almost hit himself; Shifu was covered in cuts and bruises, had both his arms and his bad leg bleeding, and most likely had a broken bone from that rock. How could he be alright?

Surprisingly, Shifu said, "Fine. Just a bit beat up." He tried to stand, but had to put his weight on his only good leg.

"We should make camp." Crane said. "We're all pretty banged up, and I doubt we're going home anytime soon." Everyone agreed and half walked, half limped to the Yangzi Clan camp, now deserted. Tigress, Monkey, and Po found some tent supplies and set up three tents in a semi-circle around a large bonfire at the center of the camp. After Po made a fire, they started mending their wounds. Everyone had a few cuts, but apart from Crane having a broken leg and Monkey having a few broken ribs, no one was hurt too badly, except Shifu. He had bandages on his leg and both arms, and he didn't seem too happy about it.

"Stupid knives." He muttered.

"What happened here?" Tigress asked. She pointed to the cut on his right arm, courtesy of Yangzi's sneak attack with his knife.

"Yangzi and his stupid knife." Shifu said. "No big deal."

"It looks like your fur's turning black." Tigress noted, staring at the wound.

"How can you tell?" Shifu asked. "My fur's dark anyways." Tigress seemed unsure, but wrapped the cut with the bandages. Then, the warriors gathered around to discuss their plans.

"I say we stay up here until we're healed." Po offered. "I'm bushed."

"We all are." Shifu said. "But you have a good point; we shouldn't be traveling for a while."

"But how long do we stay up here?" Tigress asked.

"As long as it takes." Shifu said. "We have food and it's almost summer."

"Good point." Mantis said. He yawned. "Can we go to bed?" It was pretty late, so the group started picking tents.

"Girls get this tent." Viper said, gesturing towards the tent on the left. "You guys pick sticks for the other two. Long sticks get the tent in the middle; short sticks get the tent on the right." Tigress held a bundle of sticks in her paw. Po picked the first one, and he groaned when he saw it was short. He bid everyone a glum goodnight before lumbering off into the far tent. Mantis picked next, and he was happy to have a long stick. Crane got a short stick. Then it was Shifu's turn.

But something was wrong. Whenever Shifu reached for the bundle, all he grabbed was air. He kept blinking, like there was dust in his eyes.

"Something wrong?" Monkey asked.

"No…." Shifu lied. If his students could see the way he was, they would notice that Shifu was seeing multiple bundles due to double vision.

The only question, why?

Tigress eventually placed the bundle into Shifu's paw, and he managed to grab a stick with ease. The double vision had stopped, and Shifu could plainly see he had a long stick. Monkey had a long stick as well. With the tents chosen, the seven warriors went to bed. Po had found some extra bedrolls in the Yangzi Clan's tents, and everyone had a bed to sleep in. Exhausted from the battle, everyone fell asleep with ease.

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

Shifu woke up some time later, feeling a burning sensation. At first, he thought it was just a dream he was having. Then, Shifu felt a jolt of pain, like he had gotten an electric shock. He stared down at his right arm and felt something was wrong. His double vision was back, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut and open them again a few times before it was gone. Shifu stood up and walked outside the tent. The bonfire was still lit, and Shifu started pacing in front of it. He felt restless, and his arm hurt. Then, he started feeling dizzy, and he knelt before the fire. Now, at first, the old master thought that he just lost a lot of blood. But then he got a better look at his right arm; the one Yangzi cut with his knife. Shifu undid the bandages and stared.

His arm was black.

Well, most of it. Starting from the cut in his arm and spreading out from there, his fur and skin had turned black as ink. His paw was completely black apart from a small, asterisk shaped spot of brown, barely visible, on his palm. His forearm was mostly black.

Shifu bit his bottom lip. If this was something serious, he and his students would have a problem. Then again, it was a bit cold in the mountains; the snow never melted until about halfway thru summer. Shifu reapplied his bandages and went back to bed.

The next morning, his arm was the same. He knew something was wrong, especially since he didn't feel that well during breakfast.

Po noticed. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Shifu lied yet again. But he wasn't anywhere close to fine, and he needed to get to the bottom of this. "I need to go back to that landside and search for something." He quickly got up and started back over, Po trailing behind, just in case. Truthfully, Shifu didn't mind; if something happened and he needed help…

Shifu explained to Po that they needed to find a knife, and the two of them set to work. They pushed rocks back, which tumbled down the mountain. Po freaked out when he saw a dead Yangzi Clan warrior, but soon calmed down.

Shifu carefully slid down a rock and kept looking. He knew that he was around the area where Yangzi was killed by Tigress, and started digging. He jumped when he felt someone's claws on his arm. He dug thru some more rocks before finding Yangzi's corpse. The knife was still in the tiger's paw, and Shifu managed to grab it without cutting himself again. He even got the sheath and tied it to his belt.

"Po, I found the knife!" Shifu called. "Let's go back!" Po nodded and started climbing back up thru the rocks. Shifu followed, but soon stumbled and fell. He tumbled down the rocks and landed a few feet behind Po.

"What happened?" Po asked.

"Nothing…." Shifu groaned as he stood. "I just tripped." But it wasn't that at all; the dizziness Shifu had felt the night before had come back, and he basically walked right off the rock.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Po asked. "You've been acting weird ever since that stick bundle incident."

"I'm _fine_." Shifu insisted. The dizziness was gone, but he felt weak. "I just need to rest when we get back to camp."

"Do you want help?" Po offered his paw down to his master. "You don't-"

"I don't need help!" Shifu snapped. He stood up a bit too quickly and felt a wave of nausea. But he steadied himself and started climbing up. Po seemed a bit tense, but he walked alongside his master. But Shifu hated it when people did that. So, seeing how he was always increasingly stubborn, he rushed ahead, climbing faster than Po so that he had some space. Po allowed his master to do so, but kept a close eye on him.

Shifu felt light-headed and weak, but kept going. Like I said, he's increasingly stubborn. But soon he felt like his feet had weights on them. He stopped and stared at the rocks, panting. Looking up, his vision suddenly started going in and out of focus.

_What's wrong with me? _Shifu thought.

"Master?" Po was starting to get extremely worried now.

Shifu slowly turned towards Po, but all he saw was shapes and shadows. "Po…where are you?"

"I'm right here." Po said. He started walking towards his master. "Stay there; I'm coming."

But Shifu was starting to panic, because his vision faded quickly to darkness. He stood up to find Po, but the darkness made him dizzy, and he started to fall.

And he fell right off the cliff!

"No!" Po cried, his heart in his throat. He made a mighty lunge with all his strength and grabbed Shifu's paw right before he disappeared over the edge. He winced as Shifu swung and his head hit the rock wall.

That's when Shifu woke up. His vision was crystal clear and he didn't feel dizzy or light-headed. But he still felt like he had ran a thousand miles. It took a few minutes before he was conscious of the fact that he was hanging off a mountain. Then, he jumped.

"Po…."

"Yeah?"

"Would you pull me up?"

Po carefully pulled his master up onto solid ground, and Shifu went to his knees.

"Master, _what is wrong with you?_" Po demanded.

Shifu glanced up at his student. There was no hiding it now. "Let's get back to camp."

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR _

"This is bad." Tigress said.

Shifu had just got done explaining what had happened. He even showed them the cut and his arm, which was now fully black. There were even a few black hairs creeping up on his shoulder. With further investigation, Tigress found a vile in the knife's hilt, and it had poison in it.

"What do we do?" Monkey asked. "None of us know what that stuff is and we don't know how to cure it."

"We must be hundreds of miles from the nearest doctor." Po added. Shifu sat still and silent. He hated to see his students worry for him.

"Well, does _anyone _have any idea what it could be?" Viper asked. "We know it causes dizziness, blindness, and blackness of the skin, and in this case, fur. Any ideas?" Everyone shook their heads. How could anyone know what it was? The rest of the day was spent either pondering over what the poison was or worrying for Master Shifu. Shifu tried meditating away from the group, but his mind could find no peace whatsoever. So he prayed for a miracle.

Turns out, he got one a few minutes later.

Well, he didn't realize it then.

That miracle came disguised as Crane falling out of the sky. The avian had been searching for food, and now the group saw he had been attacked.

"It was huge!" Crane cried as he smoothed out his feathers. Tigress bandaged his cut leg as he continued. "I thought it was a bird, but it had giant wings! I'm not sure what it was. All I know is that it's big, has wings and claws, and can throw pretty accurately." Crane took off his hat and showed everyone the throwing star that was embedded into it. "I don't think it wanted to kill me; just drive me away."

Shifu grabbed the star and pulled it out. It was shaped like any other throwing star, but it was pure white. Carved into it was a name. It instantly made Shifu's face light up.

"This is it." He said. "This is the answer."

A/N: Maybe not _that _short. Read and Review!


	3. Journey Up the Mountain

Chapter Three- Journey Up the Mountain

"So you really think this girl can help?" Po asked.

"Absolutely." Shifu insisted. "She's a good friend."

"I don't know." Viper muttered. "Why would she be living in the mountains if she is a great kung fu warrior?"

"She used to live in the Jade Palace." Shifu said. "But she left, saying that she didn't belong there."

"Then why are we going to her for help?" Crane asked.

"_You're _not; _I _am going alone." Shifu said. "I'm the only one who knows where she lives."

"But what if you get worse?" Tigress inquired. "You'd just be putting yourself in more danger by going alone."

"But the valley needs protecting." Shifu reminded her. "We've been away long enough. All of you go back and protect the valley; that's your main priority." Though his students protested, Shifu wasn't allowing them to accompany him. It was just going to get more dangerous; the girl lived at the top of the mountain.

So the next morning, Shifu helped his students pack up and saw them off. Then, he started the long trek up the mountain. Yangzi's poisoned knife was still in its sheath, tied to his waist. The girl's shuriken was tucked in a pocket in his sleeve. Shifu looked up, seeing the top of the mountain hidden by clouds.

"I must be out of my mind." He muttered. But he kept going.

"Come on guys!" Monkey cried. "You guys are slower than a slug on ice!"

"Well not _all _of us can swing from trees as easily as you can!" Tigress snapped. Monkey shrugged as he kept going. His ribs were fine; they weren't even broken, just bruised.

"How you guys doing?" Viper asked.

"I'm good!" Mantis said as he rode on Monkey's shoulder.

"Same here!" Crane called as he flew above them.

"All good here." Tigress said.

"Po, how about you?" Viper called. "Po?" Everyone turned and saw…Po's backpack.

"Where is he?" Tigress asked.

"Climbing the mountain." Crane said.

"That idiot!" Tigress yelled. "If he gets out alive, I'm gonna kill him!"

"Wait, you're not going after him?" Viper asked.

"He's going after Master Shifu." Tigress explained. "Though the panda isn't my first choice, I want at least _one _of us to be there in case Master needs us."

"You know he hates it when we disobey him." Viper noted as they kept going.

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

It was a bit odd that Shifu never noticed Po coming. Granted, he was starting to feel light-headed again, and his ears weren't working as well as they used to. Master and student climbed higher and higher. Shifu was determined to find this girl; Po was determined to make sure Shifu was safe.

However, the trails soon disappeared, and all that was left was a large rock face to climb. So Shifu started climbing, Po a long ways behind him.

However, Po knew he couldn't keep his cover for long, and he soon slipped, yelping as he desperately regripped. Po's yelp caught Shifu's attention and the old master look down over his shoulder and saw his panda student.

"What are you doing here?" Shifu demanded. "I told you to go home!"

"I'm not going unless I know you'll be coming back." Po insisted.

"Panda….."

Suddenly, Shifu lost his grip and his footing. He started falling, only to grab a branch quickly. He pulled himself up onto a nearby ledge, realizing that the branch he had grabbed was a root to a tree. Po climbed up and Shifu helped him onto the ledge.

"This is going to be dangerous." Shifu told him. "Even I don't know what'll happen."

"Exactly." Po said. He started climbing again. Shifu rolled his eyes and climbed as well, darting past his student.

"There are some more trails up at the next ledge." He said. "We can follow them up the mountain for a while."

"Then what?" Po asked.

"Then we camp because it'll be dark." Shifu replied. "The next morning is when we trudge thru a bunch of snow to get to the girl's cave."

Po nodded, and the two kept going. It was a long climb that lasted for about an hour. To Po, it felt like an eternity. Every once in a while, Shifu's condition would cause him to either stop for a while or to lose his footing. Shifu fell once, and Po had to make a wild grab to catch him. Once they reached the ledge, Shifu collapsed to the ground, panting. Po didn't know what to do, but Shifu seemed fine, because he stood up soon after.

"Why don't we take a break?" Po suggested. To his surprise, Shifu didn't protest. So they sat down, leaning against the mountainside. It seemed like an awkward silence.

"So…..this girl." Po started the conversation. "How do you know her? And what's her name?" Po never got a good look at the shuriken.

"Her name is Zephra." Shifu said. "She used to live with Oogway and me at the Jade Palace. But she was only with us for a few years."

"How old was she when she came?" Po asked.

"Sixteen." Shifu said. "I was only eight at the time. She stayed with us for about five years, and then told Oogway she had to leave to create her own school."

"Wow." Po said. "So….is her school in this mountain?"

"Not sure." Shifu said. "I haven't heard from her in years."

"Oh." Po thought he must've tweaked a nerve or something, because Shifu turned away from him, his ears down. The two of them only sat down for a few minutes before Shifu got up to keep going. So the two warriors started up the trails and towards the top of the mountain. They stopped once or twice because Po had to rest, but it gave Shifu a chance to catch his breath as well. The top and the peak of the mountain were still unseen, cloaked by the clouds.

The real problems didn't start until about a fourth of a mile up the trail. Shifu suddenly stopped and stayed rooted in the spot.

"Master?" Po got a bit worried. "What's wrong?"

What's wrong was that Shifu's vision was starting to fail. It kept going in and out of focus, and it was starting to make him dizzy.

"Shifu?" Po's increasing worry was clear in his voice.

Then, Shifu's vision went black. "Po….I can't see."

"What?" Po rushed to his master's side.

"My sight just went black." Shifu confessed. "I can't see a thing."

"Ok….um…." Po didn't know what to do. He wasn't a doctor for Heaven's sake! "Should we keep going?"

"No….we could just rest for a while, until it stops." Shifu said. Po helped guide his master to a nearby rock and they sat down. Po stared at the landscape around them. There wasn't much to see; a bunch of snow and rocks, mostly.

Shifu was feeling restless after a few minutes. He hated the fact that he was blind and could only see darkness. Soon, he realized they had to get moving. But how could they if he can't see?

The two of them sat around for about five minutes before Shifu started seeing things. He couldn't see much; the snow was blurry and white and the rocks looked like shadows. When Shifu tried to find Po, the panda blended right in with his limited sight.

"I'm starting to get my sight back." Shifu said. "I think we can get going."

"Are you sure?" Po asked.

Shifu tried to look towards Po using his ears to find his voice, but saw nothing. "Not really. Find me a staff." Po looked around and found a small branch on the ground. He gave it to Shifu, who used it to feel around like a blind person. Po kept a close eye on Shifu as they kept going up the mountain. They kept it up for a while, not running into many problems. Po had to stop after a steep incline and Shifu slipped on a patch of ice, but nothing more serious than that.

But, of course, something bad had to happen sooner or later.

"We should be about halfway there." Shifu announced. "I can see again."

"Cool." Po said. "So we're almost to the cave?"

"No, almost to the snow we have to go thru to _get _to the cave." Shifu said. Po groaned. Shifu still kept a hold of the staff he had, just in case.

Then, Po stopped. "What was that?"

"I don't know." Shifu said. "But I heard it, too." It was the sound of crunching snow.

"What do we do?" Po squeaked.

Shifu frowned. "Just stay alert." He and Po kept going.

They were oblivious to the wild wolves stalking them.


	4. Attack

Chapter Four- Attack

The trek up the mountain trails was slow and steady. Shifu kept his ears open and alert, relying more on them than his eyes. Of all his senses, Shifu's hearing was the strongest, the reason obvious. He didn't have any sight issues, but still felt weak. He felt like the energy had been completely drained out of him. His legs were almost useless and he leaned heavily on his staff.

Po was no better. Apart from becoming tired more often than not, he was getting increasingly worried for his master, and one horrifying thought haunted his mind.

_What if they didn't make it?_

Soon, they came to the end of the trail.

At last.

"Are we there yet?" Po whined.

"If by 'there', you mean by the end of the trail, then yes." Shifu answered. "But no, we're not at the cave yet."

"Aw man!" Po whined.

Shifu chuckled. "We'll make camp here and continue tomorrow." Po nodded, but then froze.

"Uh….we don't have any camping stuff." Po reminded him.

"I know." Shifu said. "We use what we have."

"What do we have apart from the knife and the star?" Po asked.

Shifu's answer was him gesturing towards the large (and very old) oak tree that was next to the ledge. There was an opening big enough for Po to fit thru and the trunk was hollowed out. The tree had many branches and was leafless.

"You can sleep in the trunk and I'll sleep on the branches." Shifu offered. "Now let's make a fire."

"How?" Po asked.

Shifu scurried up the tree quickly and pulled some twigs and small branches off, dropping them at his student's feet.

"Any more obvious questions?" Shifu inquired.

"No." Po mumbled as he made the fire.

Soon, there was a nice fire made, and the two warriors were sitting before it. Night had come, and Po shivered at the drop in temperature. Shifu didn't seem to notice, probably because he was already partially numb from the cold. His condition was starting to take its toll on him; he was getting light-headed and had double-vision that lasted for a few minutes.

"I think we should get to bed." Shifu announced. "I need to sleep on this."

Po nodded, staring after his master as the red panda climbed up the oak tree and made himself comfortable in one of the higher branches. Po soon curled up in the trunk of the tree and fell into an uneasy sleep.

Shifu sighed as he watched Po disappear into the tree. He hated to lie to his students. But he didn't really lie, did he? He just didn't tell Po the entire truth.

_*FLASHBACK*_

_Twelve-year-old Shifu stood before his opponent, a strange creature whose features were hidden by a cloak. The creature moved first, attacking Shifu with lightning speed. Shifu managed to deflect the creature's blows and throw a couple of his own. Soon, their battle moved throughout the palace. The servants, having gone thru this before, just moved out of the way as the two warriors fought. The battle ceased only when they arrived at the Sacred Peach Tree. Then, the creature and Shifu laughed and bowed to each other._

"_You're such a strong warrior, Shifu." The creature said._

"_As are you, Zephra." Shifu chuckled. He and the creature sat down, dead tired. _

"_What a view from up here, huh?" Zephra commented. "You can see the entire Valley of Peace."_

"_Yeah." Shifu agreed. He sighed. "Do you really have to leave?"_

"_Shifu, you know I'm being hunted." Zephra reminded him. "If they found out you were my friend, then they'd hurt you to get to me. There's a heavy price on my head…."_

"_Only in the world of bandits." Shifu snorted. "Please stay; I'll protect you from anyone that would try and harm you!" _

_Zephra smiled. "Thank you, my friend. Here, let me see your paw." Shifu did as he was told, and Zephra breathed on one of her claws, making the tip glow with an eerie light. She traced something on Shifu's palm, then something on hers. The light died from her claws. Shifu looked at his palm and was shocked to see the Yang half of the Yin-Yang symbol. Zephra showed him her palm and saw that she had the Yin half. _

"_Now you'll always remember me." Zephra promised. "And I'll always remember you."_

"_Cross your heart?" Shifu asked._

_Zephra crossed her heart. "Cross my heart." Shifu copied her movements._

_*END OF FLASHBACK*_

Shifu stared at his left palm, where the Yang symbol still showed. He sighed once more and went to sleep.

Po woke up when he heard snapping branches the next morning. He rushed out of the tree, thinking it was going over the edge. But it didn't. Po thought he must've been going crazy until he looked up and saw many broken branches.

Shifu was nowhere in sight.

Po rushed to the edge and searched for his master. He found the old man holding onto the rock face for dear life, but he looked disoriented and his arms trembled.

When Shifu had woken up, his vision was blurred and he tried to stand but lost his footing due to dizziness (again). Po managed to reach down and grab his master before Shifu could slip off, and he hoisted him up to solid ground.

"Master?"

"I'm fine." Shifu groaned. "Just took a pretty bad fall."

"It could've been worse." Po scolded.

Suddenly, Shifu's ears perked up. He grabbed a sharp rock from the ground and hurled it like a shuriken into the snow. There was a loud, dog-like yelp. Po and Shifu stood up and ready, Shifu having his staff in hand. Finally revealed, a pack of six wild wolves emerged, snarling and snapping their jaws.

"Rabid wolves." Po muttered. "Perfect."

The rabid and wild wolves attacked. Shifu and Po fought back hard. Po even grabbed a large branch and swung it like a baseball bat. Whilst two wolves occupied Po's time, the other four cornered Shifu against the old oak tree. Shifu managed to grab one and fling it into another, but the other wolves were fast. Shifu moved quickly, darting up the tree and out of harm's way. But the wolves were starving, as Shifu finally noticed when he saw how small their stomachs were. The two wolves that were going after Po suddenly joined their brothers as they all tried to climb the tree towards the old master. Po desperately tried to hit them away, but they kept coming back. One wolf finally went off to distract Po while the others kept going for Shifu. Now, it was one wolf versus Po and five versus Shifu. The five wolves going for Shifu were jumping up on the tree.

Now, I think I shall remind you now that this tree was very old and it was on the edge of a cliff. So, with the combined weight of all the wolves, the tree's roots started to lose their hold, and the tree tilted out over the edge. One of the wolves, obviously the leader, managed to climb onto the tree and advanced slowly towards Master Shifu. Shifu looked down and saw only fog. The wolf suddenly pounced, but Shifu was ready. He used his staff like a pole vault and launched a hard kick to the wolf's face. Then he swept the wolf's feet out from under him, and the wolf leader went tumbling down into the fog. The rest of the wolves, afraid now that their leader was dead, rushed off and disappeared.

Shifu walked off the fallen tree and stood next to his panda student.

"That was too close." Shifu said. He suddenly gasped with pain and went to his knees, clutching his poisoned arm. Po was horrified to see something he didn't notice that morning.

Shifu's fur was darker.

His entire arm, chest, neck, and most of his head were pitch black.

"This is bad." Po said after he told Shifu about it.

"We'll have to move fast." Shifu said. He struggled to stand and wobbled a bit, but refused any help Po offered. The two of them started up thru the snow, and Po finally got a good look at the deepness of the snow they had to go thru.

Basically, here's how deep it was: when Shifu went thru it, all Po saw was the tips of his ears.

"You've got to be kidding me." Po muttered.

A/N: Almost done! I'd say I'm about halfway done!


	5. Zephra

Chapter Five- Zephra

It took a long time to get thru the snow. To add on to it, a snowstorm had struck. Shifu had it a bit easy because he was mostly protected by the snow in front of him, but Po got full impact.

"How much longer?" Po yelled over the wind.

"We should be about there!" Shifu called back. "Do you see any lights?"

"No!" Po yelled. There was nothing to see anyway; the snow and fog was practically blinding.

"Well, keep going!" Shifu ordered. "We'll reach a ledge pretty soon!"

"K!"

So they dragged on. But the odds were against them. They had a snowstorm that was a mixture of snow and hail, the snow on the ground was getting icier, and Shifu was slowing down.

You could definitely tell Shifu was getting worse. Apart from his blackening fur, he had blurry vision, his breathing was ragged, and, overall, he felt very weak.

They had been traveling for about twenty minutes before Shifu suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Po asked.

"Nothing." Shifu said. "Just a log in my way." Po moved up and uncovered the log, digging a pathway on the other side and continuing. But when he felt something was wrong, he looked back. Shifu was leaning against the log, shivering.

Po stood in front of his master. "Well?"

"I can't do it." Shifu gasped. "I'm too tired." Po bit his bottom lip and then got an idea. He gestured for Shifu to stand back, and then punched a large hole into the log at his feet.

"Stay in there until I get back." Po told his master. "I'll go find this Zephra girl and come back for you."

Shifu hardly protested. He climbed into the log and moved to one side to stay protected from the snow and wind.

"Here" Shifu gave Po the poisoned knife in its sheath and Zephra's shuriken. "Tell her you were sent by me." Po nodded. "And Po…don't make her angry."

"Got it." Po said. He started up again thru the snow. Go straight up and you'll reach the ledge. That's what Shifu had said. So Po trudged thru snow up to his waist, keeping an eye out for any signs of life.

He must've traveling about fifty yards or so before he tripped on the ledge and fell flat on his face.

"Ow…." He muttered. He stood up and brushed himself off. Then, he gawked at the sight of a huge cave mouth in front of him, looking like it was about to swallow him whole. There was a sign at the entrance, and Po stepped up, dusted the snow off the sign, and read,

_Friends are welcome to come in  
Foes will die for their sins_

Po gulped, but remembered about Master Shifu and continued on. He just kept walking forward into the darkness. He couldn't see a thing, but he trusted himself and Master Shifu that Zephra wasn't gonna gut him when he wasn't looking.

However, he soon tripped and did a hard face plant to the floor.

"Oh for the love of-"

"WHO DARES TO ENTER MY SANCTUARY?" a voice suddenly screamed. The voice was so loud it bounced off the walls and roared out of the cave. Shifu heard it in his log.

"Oh jeez." Shifu groaned. "She's angry."

"I REPEAT!" the voice yelled. "WHY ARE YOU HERE? ANSWER ME OR BE DESTROYED!"

Po was scared stiff. He stood up and cowered. "I-I-I was s-s-sent here! B-B-By M-Master Shifu!"

The voice didn't say anything. But then torches all around the room suddenly lit up, and Po finally saw what kind of place Zephra lived in, and he gawked.

There was a LOT of cool stuff in Zephra's place. Granted, it was one giant, circular room. But the stuff that was in there! There was stuff that Po didn't even recognize. There was a tatami mat on the floor against the wall and a few more rolled up at the foot of the mat. The floor suddenly turned furry, and Po looked down to see that it was covered in fluff. It felt like a fur pelt, but it wasn't. For one thing, it was purple. In another part of the cave was a large kitchen area. But most of the stuff was very unfamiliar (most was from the 21st century, unknown to Po). Against another part of the wall was a large black box with some sort of reflected glass. Weird little boxes and strange items littered the floor in front of it. In the center of the room was a large, circular table. It was covered with different herbs, liquids, knives, and many other things Po was afraid to name. There were more herbs hanging next to a cabinet that Po guessed was filled with the rest of the stuff. A huge bookcase stuffed with books was nailed to the wall. It was so tall it was from floor to ceiling, and there was a ladder.

All in all, Zephra's place was….cool.

Zephra had an awesome crib.

"You like it?"

Po whipped around and saw a hooded figure that was in front of the black box. The reflected glass had moving pictures on it. Po was shocked to see himself beating up a gang of bandits. The figure was pressing colored dots and moving little sticks around on a strange device, staring at the screen, and muttering words under her breath. The device in her hand was attached to a large box with a black string thing. The large black box had a green circle on it, and the circle had an X printed in the middle.

"Um….." Po was at a loss for words. "What is that you're doing?"

The figure chuckled. "Old timer." It was clear by the figure's voice that it was a girl. "This black box is called a TV. The little boxes around me are games. This black box-" the girl gestured to the green circled box. "- is an Xbox. The thing in my hand is a game controller. I am currently playing _Kung Fu Panda: The Game_. I've also got some Wii stuff and a few Game boys in here. You wanna play?"

Po stood there, dumbfounded. "I have no idea what you just said."

"It's stuff from the future." The girl chuckled. She pressed the PAUSE button on the game and stood up, walking towards Po. "My name is Zephra. An honor to meet you, Dragon Warrior." Zephra bowed.

Po awkwardly bowed back. "Uh, nice to meet- wait a minute! How did you know I was the Dragon Warrior?"

"I tend to keep an eye on things at the Jade Palace." Zephra replied. She stared at Po for a minute. "Can I trust you enough to take my cloak off?"

"If by that you mean I won't run away screaming, yes." Po said. If this girl could really save his master's life, he would trust her.

Zephra smiled and removed her cloak, spreading her stiff wings.

_Wings? _

Yes, wings.

Zephra looked like a human that Po had read about in myths. Since humans didn't exist in his world, he had never seen one till now. It was obvious by the hourglass shape of her body that it was a girl. Zephra had skin the color of mud, hair as black as obsidian, and kind, light brown eyes. No, not brown. Reddish brown? To Po, they looked like the color of Shifu's red markings. The girl had on black leggings, a short denim skirt, a black T-shirt, and a denim jacket. The girl was also barefoot; her body was strong and lithe. She was a warrior to be reckoned with. But what made Po stare (a bit rudely I might add) was the Zephra's extra feature. Zephra had tabby cat ears and tail, giant black eagle wings, and eagle talons instead of fingernails.

"Surprised?" Zephra asked as she tossed her cloak onto her mat.

"Just a smidge." Po admitted.

Zephra laughed. She had a nice, heartily laugh. "So, what is the Dragon Warrior doing in my crib?"

"Crib?"

"It's gangster talk." Zephra said. (A/N: Hopefully no one takes any offense to this. I'm not sure who would, but just in case.)

"Oh." Po cleared his throat. "Uh, I think you tried to kill my friend with this." Po gave Zephra her shuriken. She took it and smirked.

"You're friends with that bird?" she guessed.

"The crane with the hat? Yeah."

"He tried to steal from my trees." Zephra frowned.

"Uh, we needed food." Po excused. "You see, we were fighting a big battle and we just won a few days ago. We needed food for the journey home."

"So you were the great warriors that defeated the Yangzi Clan." Zephra smiled. "Well done."

"Thanks." Po said. "Now, I need some help. One of my friends was hurt with this." Po showed Zephra the poisoned knife, and Zephra's smiled disappeared. She took the knife in her hands and drew it.

"Come with me." Zephra commanded. Po followed the girl to the large circular table. He watched as Zephra laid the knife on the table and took out the vile of poison. She studied it carefully. Then she rushed over to the bookcase and scurried up the ladder like a squirrel. She scanned the bookcase for a minute before pushing off and sliding down the line of books. She stopped abruptly and grabbed a large black book from one of the upper shelves. She set it down next to the knife and flipped thru it. Soon, she stopped, studying the page she was on.

"Melltith Yangzi chi a'ch gyllell fach. Mai i chi farw marwolaeth ofnadwy." Zephra muttered.

"Say what?" Po asked.

"It's Welsh." Zephra said. "I know how to speak every language in the world. I just said, 'Curse you Yangzi and your little knife. May you die a terrible death.' Dark, yes. But this poison is very dangerous."

"Well, he did die a terrible death, if that makes you feel better." Po suggested.

"It does." Zephra admitted. "Now, this poison is extremely rare. Explain the symptoms."

"This didn't happen to me." Po told her.

"Then explain the symptoms you noticed in the person that did have this." Zephra said, getting a bit tense.

"Uh…." Po thought about what had happened to Shifu. "Blurry vision, double vision, blindness, each happening once in a while and lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes. Light headedness and dizziness. Feeling very weak and his fur and skin are turning inky black. And….if anything else happened, he wouldn't tell me."

"So this happened to a friend?" Zephra guessed.

"Yes." Po said.

"Ok." Zephra breathed. "This is pretty bad. Do you have your friend with you; the one that's sick?"

"No." Po admitted. "He's resting somewhere safe some ways down the mountain."

"Is he safe from the storm out there?"

"Yes."

"Who is this that is sick?" Zephra inquired.

"My kung fu master." Po said.

Zephra froze. Her eyes went from reddish-brown to red in the blink of an eye. Po stared at her in shock. _I think I just made her angry. _He thought.

"You're…what?" Zephra asked, her voice strangely quiet.

A/N: I'm about halfway done now! Just wait until the next chapter! It'll blow you away!


	6. Zephra's Decision

Chapter Six- Zephra's Decision

"My…..kung fu master…" Po repeated. "He's the one Yangzi poisoned."

Zephra glared at him with her now blood red eyes.

"Why are your eyes like that?" Po asked.

"They change color when I get angry." Zephra said.

"Oh." Po chuckled nervously. "So…..can you help my master?"

Zephra stayed rooted in the spot for a long, agonizing, silent, and quite awkward minute. She stood up straight.

"No."

Po was taken aback so much that he didn't really understand. "Excuse me?"

"I won't help you." Zephra declared. "I don't help worthless little kung fu masters."

"What?" Po was on the verge of panicking. If Zephra didn't help, who could? "But you said this was deadly!"

"It is."

"He'll die if you don't help." Po seethed.

"Good riddance." Zephra said.

"You don't understand." Po said. "He's-"

"A kung fu master." Zephra said. "And all kung fu masters are the same. They build you up; tell you that you're destined for greatness. They train you hard and promise to make you great warriors. Then, they tear you down and leave you with nothing."

"Shifu would _never-_" Then, Po stopped. Shifu technically _did _do that to Tai Lung. But Tai Lung was the one who chose to live that life of evil, didn't he?

Po then became aware of the fact that Zephra was staring at him. "Did you say, 'Shifu'?"

"Yes…" Po said warily.

Zephra leaned against the table. "He became a master?"

"He's been a master for a while." Po said. "Or at least I think he has."

"I don't believe it." Zephra said.

"Zephra?" Po was getting worried. "Shifu told me you used to live in the Jade Palace."

"I did for a while." Zephra agreed. "Shifu and I were very good friends. But bandits were out for my blood. So I ran away here, hoping to never bring harm to Shifu."

"So, if you and Shifu are like best of friends, why are you willing to let him die?" Po asked.

"He's a kung fu master." Zephra replied. "I took a vow to never trust a kung fu master again."

"Why?" Po demanded. "What did Shifu do to you?"

"It wasn't Shifu." Zephra said. "It was my own master."

Po looked utterly confused. "What did your master do?"

Zephra sighed. For a long time, there was only silence except for the sound of the storm outside.

Then, Zephra started her story.

"I was only five when I lost my parents. They died in a fire because of bandits. I wandered around before I ended up falling down a hole and found myself in this strange world. A great kung fu master named Cheng took me in, raised me as though I were his own, and taught me kung fu. I was so good that I was named master at age thirteen. I was the youngest master ever named in history, and Master Cheng couldn't have been more proud of me.

"One day, we were called to stop some crazy mad scientist from creating a potion that would create animal hybrids. The scientist wanted to create an army so that he could take over. My master and I fought hard, taking down all that opposed us. Eventually, we found the scientist, and we were attacked by hybrids." Zephra chuckled. "That wacked-out scientist had mixed together the nastiest and most dangerous creatures on the planet. Master Cheng and I were both beat up pretty badly before we actually started winning.

"But…something went wrong. I was accidently injected with a serum that was a combination of an eagle and a domestic tabby cat. Instantly my body changed into what I am now. I killed the scientist, destroyed his palace and still managed to get Master Cheng out. But after my transformation, he never looked at me the same again. He treated me like a monster. I was only back in my room for one night before Master Cheng kicked me out, disowning me as a student. I lived out in the wild for a few days before I returned to the palace and killed Master Cheng for revenge.

"After that, I vowed to never trust or help another kung fu master again. Many years later, I soon realized that I had gotten eternal youth. Turns out that scientist had added that in with the serum." Zephra sighed. "All this happened at least six hundred years ago. About ten years after killing Cheng, Master Oogway saved my life. At first, I didn't trust him due to my vow. But soon, I realized he had been the one who created kung fu. Kung fu was and still is my life. So I stayed with him. For years, he trained me to control myself. When Shifu came, we became good friends. It wasn't until I was captured by bandits that I realized it. I managed to kill the bandits and get away, but I knew that there would be more that would want my power. So I ran away here to protect Shifu."

Po stared at the immortal warrior, shocked at such a story. "So, you hate kung fu masters because your first master betrayed and disowned you?"

"Master Oogway was the only one that would be kind to me." Zephra admitted. "But I never helped another master again. The only reason you're an exception is because you're the Dragon Warrior. I can make that exception."

"But you won't make an exception for Shifu, your friend?" Po guessed.

"I'm sorry."

"Why can't you just let that go?" Po demanded. "So what if your first master was a jerk!"

"A jerk?" Zephra repeated. "No. He was more than that. After I changed, he refused to help me defeat the rest of the hybrids and the scientist." Zephra drew her talons and put them close to Po's face. "I was less than half a claw tip's away from being dead. And you expect me to just forget that?"

"Zephra, please." Po begged. "If you don't help him, he'll die."

"Po, I'm sorry." Zephra apologized. Po was still a bit surprised that she knew his name, but didn't show it because of how upset he was now.

"I still don't understand why you won't help." Po said.

"Really?" Zephra asked incredulously. "How can you expect that from me? I have lived by this vow for hundreds of years. How can you expect me to throw that all away just to save one person?"

"That one person is your friend." Po reminded her.

Zephra turned away and hung her head. "I can't do it. It would go against everything I live by."

Po was heartbroken. There was a heavy silence, and Po remembered that there was a storm outside, and Shifu needed medical attention. If Zephra didn't help, he'd have to get Shifu to a doctor in the Valley of Peace.

But maybe he could change Zephra's mind.

No, Zephra's too stubborn.

Still….

Last chance. "Zephra, Shifu's dying out there." Po told her. "Final answer: will you help me save my master?"

Zephra was still.

She weighed her options.

Zephra had been betrayed by her master, disowned, and became a murderer by killing Cheng. It was going to be increasingly difficult for her to forget that. She made a vow, and she was determined to keep it.

But what about Shifu?

Shifu was her best friend. They had gone thru so much together. Shifu had almost drowned in a river, and Zephra saved his life. When Zephra was attacked by a gorilla bandit, Shifu had saved her.

But could she really break a vow she had kept for so long?

Po watched as Zephra thought hard. When he had first seen her, he thought she was a great warrior. Now, he saw that she had a heart of stone.

Zephra turned to Po.

"I'm sorry, Po." She said. "I can't do it." Zephra walked off and continued her video game. "Tell me this though: why do you care so much about him?"

"Shifu's not just my master." Po replied. "He's my friend; like a second father to me. If something happened to him, I wouldn't be able to let it go."

Zephra said nothing, but just kept going with her game. But she made the game character Po get crushed by a gorilla bandit.

Po growled, turned on his heel, and walked out, not saying a word.

If only he could see the tears on Zephra's cheeks.

A/N: Almost done!


	7. Those Who Are Lost

Note to RPO, I was just kidding about how I would never update again.

Chapter Seven- Those Who Are Lost

Po angrily trudged thru the snow and ice. The storm had settled slightly so that it was just snowing really hard. His thoughts were racing. His emotions were a jumbled mess. He was mad the Zephra wouldn't help, worried about Shifu's condition, upset because he knew Shifu had a very slim chance of living, and was confused on why Zephra had such a cold heart.

He soon learned a lesson in watching where you're going, because he soon tripped over a log and went face first into the snow.

Shifu, inside the log, heard Po's muffled screams, mostly the usual why-does-this-always-happen-to-me thing. He smirked.

Po stood up and went back to the log. He peered in and could barely see his master inside. He helped Shifu out.

"So, how was Zephra?" Shifu asked. "What's the deal?"

"She's a cold hearted witch." Po growled. "She refuses to help us." Po explained Zephra's vow and her reason for making the vow.

Shifu sighed. "I guess I can't blame her."

"Now what do we do?" Po demanded.

"We go back to the valley." Shifu decided. "If I'm still alive, we'll find a doctor." Po and Shifu walked back down thru the snow and onto the trails. They reached the old oak tree before Shifu stopped, coughing and leaning against the rock wall. That's when Po decided they should rest, so they sat down for a while.

Po stared at his master. Shifu looked more like a black cat rather than a red panda now. He was shivering and coughing now and then. He even sneezed a couple times, and Po thought he was getting a cold now.

"Shifu, can I ask you something?" Po questioned. He rarely called Shifu by his name.

"Go ahead." Shifu allowed him to. _It may be the last question you can ask me. _

"When I told you that Zephra couldn't help, you seemed so calm." Po explained. "Like you didn't realize that….how do I put this?" Po sighed. "You always seem so calm and brave, and I know that every warrior must have _some _weakness or fear. So what I want to know is this: are you afraid to die?"

Shifu seemed surprisingly calm; he even chuckled, like he had been asked this question a million times before. "No, I'm not afraid to die. However, I am afraid of losing my students."

"I would be." Po admitted. If any of his bunny students back home had been lost, he'd be devastated.

"Let me tell you something else, though." Shifu continued. "I'm also afraid that, when I do die, you and the Five won't be ready." Po stared at him. "I've taught you and Five much; almost everything I know. The last lesson I will teach you is how to let go. But I want you to be ready for it."

"Why's that?"

"When Oogway died, I was completely unprepared." Shifu explained. "I was never ready for him to leave, especially since you had come along." The two of them chuckled. "It was his passing that told me what my last lesson to my students, to anyone's students, was supposed to be: how to let go."

Po sighed. He always forgot how wise Shifu could be.

Shifu grunted as he stood. "Let's keep moving." Po nodded and stood. With luck, maybe they could get home so that Shifu and the Five could say good-bye.

Of course, they didn't have much luck!

Because then the rabid wolves attacked

What do you expect?

The wolves obviously elected a new leader, and they attacked with more force than last time. Po and Shifu were once again separated. Since there were only five wolves, one was distracting Po and four were attacking Shifu. It was obvious that the wolves were fighting to avenge their previous leader, and the four attacking Shifu were super aggressive. Apart from that, Shifu's condition was getting in the way. He was light-headed, his vision was blurry, and he felt like there were weights on his limbs.

It was just like last time. The wolves pushed Shifu into going onto the old oak again. This time, two wolves came up on top and the other two went inside the tree so that Shifu couldn't get away.

Shifu was starting to get a bit worried. He prepared himself as much as he could in his condition.

Then, the wolf closest to him pounced!

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

Zephra continued to play her game, this time playing as Shifu. She managed to kick butt and even beat her high score, but then she sighed, pausing the game. She stood up and walked over to her potion table. She stared at the vile of poison and then back at the book. The antidote for the poison was easy to make and could be done in a few minutes if you had all the ingredients, and Zephra did.

It was so easy.

So why didn't she do it?

Zephra needed something to do. Soon, she found herself grabbing utensils and ingredients. Almost as though in a trance, Zephra started cutting and crushing; dicing and sprinkling; following all the directions for the antidote. It took about five minutes. Then, Zephra found herself with a bowl of green liquid. She stared into the liquid for a long time before averting her eyes towards the Yin symbol on her palm. Young Shifu and her voice echoed in her ears.

"_Now you'll always remember me." She had said. "And I'll always remember you."_

"_Cross your heart?" he had asked._

"_Cross my heart." She had promised._

Zephra sighed.

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

Shifu kicked the wolf away and the creature fell down into the fog. The other three wolves charged the master at once, but soon found out gravity's cruelness.

The combined weight of the three wolves and Shifu made the oak tree's roots finally give away. The tree fell, and only a few of its roots held on. So the tree slammed into the mountain and the three wolves followed their brethren. The fourth wolf grabbed the branches with his teeth and advanced towards Shifu, climbing from branch to branch.

Po meanwhile managed to smack the wolf he was facing off the mountain and rushed to the oak. He looked down and was horrified to see the wolf going towards his master. "Shifu, get up here!"

But Shifu couldn't move. He was officially in his weakest state, and it took all his strength to hold onto the branch he was on. But he knew that he couldn't let the wolf get to him; or, more importantly, Po.

So when the wolf was almost on top of him, Shifu let go of the branch, slamming into the wolf and sending them both falling.

Po stood rooted in the spot, too shocked to even speak or cry out. Then, he started running down the trail. Shifu was always stubborn, even when it comes to dying.

So there was a chance.

Shifu fell hard, bouncing off the wall now and then before landing hard on the stone floor. He stayed down, on the verge of death. The rabid wolves had regrouped and were almost upon him. All it would take was a single bite, and that would be it.

Shifu knew it.

The wolves knew it.

Everyone would know it.

One refused to let it happen.

Before the wolves could kill the old master, a large mass suddenly stood over him, hissing menacingly. In his weakening state, Shifu managed to look up, but only saw shapes and shadows. Then, the creature above him moved its hand, and Shifu saw the Yin symbol briefly before passing out.

Zephra snarled and swiped her talons at the wolves. The wolves thought about attacking, but decided otherwise after one lunged and Zephra took him out. The wolves ran off, whimpering and whining.

Zephra picked Shifu up in her arms and took a hold of his wrist. Satisfied with the pulse, though weak, Zephra sighed with relief. Then, she spread her wings and took off, quickly heading for home.


	8. Zephra and Shifu

Chapter Eight- Zephra and Shifu

All he could see were shapes and shadows. But he soon became aware of many other things. Slowly, his senses came back to life. He felt the warmth of a soft bed, saw the rocky cave ceiling, and heard the sounds of a battle.

Shifu rubbed his sore head. Slowly sitting up, he got a good look at where he was. He found himself sitting on a small bed and smelled sweet smells from a nearby kitchen area. The battle sounds he heard were coming from a television and a creature playing a game.

"And so the dork lives again." Zephra chuckled, pausing her game to walk over. "How do you feel?"

"Like I just got hit with a bunch of rocks and just got over the flu at the same time." Shifu admitted.

"Well, you did have a pretty nasty fall." Zephra told him. She walked over to her potion table and returned with the bowl of antidote. "Here, drink this."

"Why?"

"It's the antidote to your poison problem you've been having." Zephra said. "You look like a black cat right now, so the sooner you finish all that the better."

Shifu took a sip and immediately spewed it out. "This tastes terrible!"

"Well what'd you expect?" Zephra demanded. "Peach juice? Now finish it if you want to see tomorrow's daylight."

Reluctantly, Shifu continued to drink, but the look on his face was clearly read. "This is disgusting."

"Just finish it." Zephra ordered. "I'll put on some tea."

"Let me guess…" Shifu mused. "Your favorite: Jasmine?"

"No duh!" Zephra said. She and Shifu laughed. Zephra left to make tea and Shifu kept drinking. When Zephra returned, she had a tray with a teapot, two cups, a small bowl of sugar lumps, and a chocolate bar. The antidote bowl was empty, and Shifu looked like he was about to vomit.

Zephra poured some tea into a cup and split the chocolate bar in half. "Here; the tea will keep the medicine down and the chocolate will get rid of the aftertaste." While Zephra served herself, Shifu sipped the tea and nibbled the chocolate, looking a bit better already. At least, his fur was turning back to normal. There was a heavy silence as the two ate and drank. Once done, Zephra took the tray of empty dishes to the sink.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Pardon?" Zephra piped up.

"Why'd you save me from those wolves?" Shifu demanded. "You took a vow and threw it away just to save me."

Zephra smiled and turned to him. Her reddish-brown eyes shined. "Your student was wiser than I assumed. I should've helped you from the beginning; I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."

"Trust me; you're forgiven." Shifu assured.

"Thanks." Zephra said gratefully. "Now, until you show any signs of getting better, you're staying in that bed, got it?"

"Yes Mother." Shifu mocked.

"Oh shut up." Zephra said as she walked back to her game. "Even your student knew _his _manners."

Then, it hit him. Shifu almost hit himself. "Po! I forgot! He's still up on the mountain!"

"Outside?" Zephra questioned. "Oh, that's bad. There's a blizzard heading this way." Zephra rushed to the mouth of the cave. "Stay here and rest. I'll get him."

"Maybe I should come." Shifu started to get up, but Zephra was at his side in two seconds, forcing him back down.

"Not this time." Zephra ordered. "Just rest. I promise I'll get Po and come back soon." Shifu seemed extremely reluctant, considering he didn't know how long Po would last in the snow, but he lay back down to sleep. Zephra sprinted to the cave mouth, spread her wings, and took off, flying thru the falling snow. The clouds above were already darkening.

Po searched up and down, jumping down and scrambling up rocks like there was no tomorrow. A voice in the back of his head repeatedly told him, _Shifu's dead. Stop looking; no one could've survived a fall like that. _But he kept going. He was in a fit of madness, and tripped over a log. He went tumbling down and ended up going face first into the dirt. And Po stayed that way. He stood on his hands and knees, staring at the dirt. He knew his search was crazy, but he didn't want to give up. His favorite saying was 'a real warrior never quits'.

But isn't there a time when they should quit?

His master was dead. He was sure of it. It was a miracle enough that Shifu had survived this long. Po felt sick to his stomach, but then he was aware of a cold sensation on his back. Looking up at last, he found himself in the middle of a blizzard. He quickly started looking for shelter, but he should've known that the odds were against him.

Meanwhile, Zephra flew high above the rocks, dipping down once in a while for a better view. She didn't like to think of Po in a storm as bad as this. It was almost an hour before she found him huddled next to a cluster of rocks, obviously trying to stay warm. Zephra landed softly next to the panda. Po looked up, but looked away when he saw who it was.

"Po?" Zephra sighed. "Let's get out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Po growled. "It's because of you that Shifu's dead."

"No." Zephra huffed. "It's because of me that he's alive and resting up in my home."

Po stared at her. "What? But…that fall….he couldn't have survived…."

"He almost didn't make it." Zephra admitted. "But you obviously underestimate his strength." Zephra offered her talon hand. "Come on, you'll be safe in my home."

Po seemed wary, but he took Zephra's hands and she flew off. But Po was quite heavy, so it took a long time to get back to the cave. Once there, Zephra showed Po his master, who was fast asleep, but looking much better. Then Zephra set up an extra tatami mat for Po and the panda fell asleep instantly.

Zephra smiled as she gazed upon the two warriors. Po was snoring up an earthquake, but Zephra only rolled her eyes. She didn't feel like sleeping, so she went back to her game. Seeing how she didn't want to wake anyone up, Zephra pulled out a Game boy and turned the volume down. She played for a while before she heard someone grunt, like they had just woken up. She turned and saw Shifu sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes.

"Awake already?" Zephra asked.

"Can't sleep." Shifu replied.

"I can't see how you could." Zephra agreed. "Your panda student is snoring so loudly the dead must be turning over in their graves."

"It's not just that." Shifu grumbled. "But you have a point." The two of them turned to Po as the panda snorted and turned over.

"Dork." Zephra muttered.

"Well, what can you do?" Shifu shrugged. "Still…..I don't understand why you made an exception."

"For what?"

"That vow you made." Shifu continued. "You made a vow to never trust a kung fu master again, and you've always been a person that keeps true to your word. So why was I an exception?"

"Well….I can make that exception if the master is my best friend." Zephra explained. "Besides, I should've known you'd do something stupid like come up a mountain for my help."

"I'm not as stupid as you think, you know."

"Oh yeah?" Zephra laughed. "You nearly set the bunkhouse on fire with a firecracker! Five different times!"

"_Four _times." Shifu snapped. "That last one did not count."

"Whatever…" Zephra muttered.

Shifu huffed. "Were you born with attitude?"

"You better believe it, buddy." Zephra nodded. The two of them chuckled.

"So, what now?" Shifu asked.

"Pardon?"

"What will you do now?" Shifu repeated. "Once I'm better, Po and I will be heading straight for the palace."

"What's your point?" Zephra shrugged. She stood up and got herself a glass of water. "By my calculations, you'll be better in a few days."

"Will you come back?"

Zephra spewed water instantly. She coughed up the water that had backtracked into her windpipe. "What?"

"I want you to come back." Shifu said. "You belong in the palace."

"What is there at the palace for me?" Zephra demanded. "I've been watching you guys ever since Tai Lung came back."

Shifu was surprised. "How did you-"

"Word spreads fast." Zephra continued. "Anyway, I saw everything; I saw how Oogway died and how the panda was chosen. I only stuck around long enough to see the Dragon Warrior beat Tai Lung." Zephra glared at the floor. "There's nothing left for me at the Jade Palace. Oogway is dead; he was like a father to me."

Shifu felt sorry for Zephra. He knew the pain she was feeling; he felt the same when Oogway died. He was _there _to witness it.

"I can get down the mountain." Zephra said. "But I can't go back to something that is dead to me."

Shifu sighed. "I'm not dead to you." Zephra glanced at him. "I'm still living at the palace; hence something that _is _left for you."

After a long, long minute, Zephra smiled softly. "Can I bring all my stuff?"

"If you can find a place in your room for it." Shifu agreed.

Zephra smirked. "I have a better plan."


	9. Return

Chapter Nine- Return

The next few days was mostly Zephra taking care of Shifu and keeping Po out of trouble. The poor panda was so curious about Zephra's stuff from the future that he almost drank a potion that paralyzed your muscles. Meanwhile, Shifu was looking better and better by the hour. His fur was normal and he only had a few symptoms every few hours. By the third day, Zephra confirmed that he would be healthy enough to go home.

"You sure you won't come?" Po asked as they journeyed down the mountain.

"Oh I'll come." Zephra promised. "Just let me move my stuff."

"Where are you moving it to?" Po asked.

"You'll see." Zephra had a sly smile on her face, and Po was so spooked he slipped on a patch of ice and fell a ways down the mountain.

"Why must you do that?" Shifu demanded.

"It's funny to watch him bounce like a bouncy ball." Zephra replied.

Shifu stared down at his panda student, who was still bouncing slightly. "Good point."

Zephra laughed and Shifu smiled. It had been such a long time since he had heard that laugh. Granted, he and Zephra used to have a lot of fun when they were kids. But that was a long time ago, and if Shifu had known that Zephra was living so close to the Valley of Peace he would've gone to visit.

"Well, here we are." Zephra announced. She and Shifu stepped off onto the dirt road that led back to the valley. "Can you find your way back from here?"

"Of course I can." Shifu assured. "How soon until you come?"

"Give me until tomorrow." Zephra said.

Shifu gave her a weird look. Then again, Zephra's been pretty good with this kind of stuff. "So, I'll see you around?"

"Would you relax you dork!" Zephra gave Shifu a friendly punch. "Speaking of dork, where's Po?"

To answer her question, Po gave a yell as he fell down the mountain and landed in a nearby tree.

Zephra rolled her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she spread her wings and took off.

Shifu stared after her until she disappeared into the clouds. Then he turned to Po. "Care to get down so we can go home?"

"Just a sec!" Po cried. Then, he yelped as he went crashing out of the tree and onto the ground. Shifu rolled his eyes.

"Would you come on?" he demanded. Po got up and they continued on to the palace. Po was a bit surprised to see that Shifu went the whole way without needing a break, and they made it back a few hours after sunset. The Five were already asleep, and the two warriors did the same.

The next morning, the Five were all overjoyed to see their master alive and well. They were even more excited to hear that Zephra was coming. Apparently they had all heard about Zephra but never saw her.

"When will she be here?" Viper asked.

"She said today." Po said as he made breakfast.

"What does she look like?" Monkey asked.

"Find out for yourself." Shifu told them. He pointed to the other end of the room, where a familiar face was beaming.

"What's up?" Zephra asked. The Five gaped at Zephra, their mouths hanging open. They had never seen a creature like Zephra before. Mantis fainted right into his bowl of soup, woke up, and did it again.

It was a bit hard for everyone (minus Shifu) to get used to having Zephra around. Zephra was so good at kung fu that she was at Oogway's level. So she didn't train as much as the others did. But she always took up any opportunity she got to spar with the other Jade Palace residents. She always won, though when Zephra and Shifu sparred it was always pretty close. She won some, he won some, and sometimes they tied.

It took about a week, but everyone at the palace got used to Zephra being at the palace. She would sleep at her home in a cave a mile away and spent a lot of her mornings there. But then she'd come to the palace to hang out. Even the villagers got used to Zephra. They realized that she may look a bit scary, but she was really nice.

Time flew by, and then it was two weeks after the mountain incident. Shifu couldn't have been healthier, and Zephra was basically a part of the family. At least Shifu thought so as he meditated under the peach tree that night. He and his students had long since healed from their battle. Zephra made amends with Crane, seeing how she had attacked him.

Shifu sighed in content. His ear twitched slightly when he heard a noise, and he spun around to block an attack from behind. Soon, he and the hooded figure attacking him were fighting vigorously. They each had a near death experience when they came too close to the edge, but kept at it. It wasn't until Shifu kicked the creature off the cliff that he started laughing. Zephra flew back up to him and removed her cloak.

"Just like old times, huh?" she said, bowing.

Shifu did the same. "Yeah." They sat down panting a little. Zephra lay on her back and stared up at the sky. Shifu did the same, and the two of them stared at the constellations.

"What do you think Master Oogway would say if he were here?" Zephra wondered aloud.

"About what?" Shifu asked.

"Everything." Zephra sighed. "I feel a bit lost and confused. But, at the same time, I'm finding my way back."

"You'll get thru it." Shifu assured. "You always do."

"Like when?"

"Like….." Shifu thought for a moment. "What about the time you defeated Great Gorilla and his army?"

"You helped." Zephra said. "You were always a great warrior. Remember the time you fought off an entire bandit weasel clan?"

"I wouldn't have if you didn't help." Shifu said.

"So, let me get this straight." Zephra offered. "The only reason we became great was because we helped one another?"

Shifu thought about it. "You did help me perfect the five hundred and eighty sixth scroll."

"You helped me get over my fear of water." Zephra added.

"So, what do you think it's supposed to mean?"

"I don't know." Zephra shrugged. "It sounds like we're Yin and Yang." Zephra sighed. "We were pretty good friends, huh?"

"Oogway said we were like a brother and sister." Shifu admitted. "We did fight like it."

"Yeah." Zephra agreed. She and Shifu did get into arguments sometimes. "But we're still best friends, right?"

"Of course."

"And not friends like couple friends, right?"

"Zephra!"

Zephra laughed. "I'm kidding!"

"You're over six hundred years old, yet you still act like a teenager." Shifu complained.

"Whatever." Zephra smirked. There was a heavy silence. "We're always gonna be friends, huh?"

"Ya think?" Shifu smirked.

"Cross your heart?"

Shifu smiled. "Cross my heart. You?"

Zephra smiled and crossed her heart. "Duh!"

THE END


End file.
